Ford bans competitors' vehicles from lot

CNNMoney.com ^ | 01/27/2006 | By Staff

[oxcart]

Employees at Ford's Dearborn Truck Plant in Dearborn, Mich., will have to drive Ford Motor Co. vehicles to work or park across the street, the plant manager announced earlier this week.

The new parking policy, which is scheduled to take effect Feb. 1, was instituted by plant manager Rob Webber just as Ford reported losses of $1.6 billion from its North American auto operations in 2005 and Monday announced plans to close 14 plants and cut 30,000 jobs as it tries to reverse losses and respond to declining U.S. market share.

[Politicalmom]

Hmmm.

Tell that to my Windstar, which has been in the shop repeatedly due to "electrical issues". Also, the automatic doors have popped open a fraction after being closed ever since I got it. It has been in about 15 times just for that. : )

No more Fords for us.

[newnhdad]

I agree. This is just plain poor management.
Sr management should look at the fact that employees don't drive Fords as a failure on their part. They should encourage people to drive Ford, not punish them if they don't. Give people the proper incentive like free cars, cheap cars with free maintainence so they will be walking, talking proof that the cars are good.
Removing the competition from the eyesight does not make your product better, just closer.
Which would they rather be?

[Sunnyflorida]

I wonder if you pulled up in a Saab would the dopey union guard get the joke.

Aren't many Fords made in canada and mexico.

[Sunnyflorida]

It is really uncanny how well the Japanese cars made in the USA just hold up. I'm sure some people have problems, but generally they seem to run for ever and the cosmetics tend to hold up also.

[CGTRWK]

What about employees who have only been with Ford for a couple years? Should recent hires be expected to trade in the perfectly good car they had before for a big loss and spend $25,000 on a new Ford just to look good in the parking lot?

[Sunnyflorida]

Don't agree in all cases.

[Recovering Hermit]

Friend of mine says, "I'd rather push a FORD than drive a CHEVY"!

Heh, heh. A friend of mine, with his Chevy 2500, went 4x4 joy-riding with a couple of his Ford-owning buddies who were touting the same mantra.

Basically, by the end of the day both of the Fords had broken down...one with major transmission problems.

He added a little salt, and asked them both if he could take a few pics of them pushing their Fords.

I don't care to argue about all of that...I'm a Dodge guy.

I had 2002 Ram 1500 before this one, but for some reason I just had to have the Hemi engine.

No regrets on that choice, other than those lame-assed road tires they are equipped with. They were the first to go.

Other than that, I have not had a single problem with either one of my Rams.

[Antonello]

In your hypothetical, Cindy's past action of voting on the referendum is separate from her present reaction to the paint color. Had she voted for the paint requirements and it failed anyway, would that somehow make her current actions not be support to you?

To me it seems Cindy either had a change of heart about her feelings that all paint colors are fine with her or she was not being true to her own desires when she cast her vote.

To use a personal example from my life, my 18 year old daughter decided to marry a 35 year old ex-felon who has children of his own that are her age. I did not and still don't support her decision, but I do acknowledge that it was her right as a legal adult to make that choice.

[DCPatriot]

I had my car in the shop last year and they gave me a free rental...a GMC pickup with a back seat like your RAM.

I looked it up on the web and saw it retailed for over $35K.

No way would I spend that kind of money...but yours looks schweeeet!

[TChris]

Well there you go! This should fix all of Ford's problems in a jiffy.

The term "Polishing the brass on the Titanic" comes to mind.

[cbkaty]

I bet Burger King won't allow the consumption of McDonalds burgers on their property......hmmmm.

[Sunnyflorida]

Nice looking truck.

I have a white F-250 I'd love to trade w/90K miles. It is an extra cab and I need the bigger back seat. It has been ok from a reliabilty point of view. Not good but not horrible. Certainly nothing close to the wife's lexus. I really would love a new H2-SUT to piss-off the environmental wackos and it drives great, but there is no service very close (15 miles) and I hear they have lots of problems. The Toyota seems a bit light to me. Did you get your Dodge loaded up? How is the fit and finish and the service? I like a hard ride.

[muir_redwoods]

No better way to improve the product than to piss off the production staff.

[VOA]

The 500 has been described as a car so nondescript that you probably wouldn't
even notice one until it hit you.
Also rated as underpowered, which perhaps did help it get a top-level
ratings safety...too slow to get into trouble.

Thanks to another poster I now understand why it is a safe car...
NOT designed in Detroit, but by Volvo in Sweden.

[Dr.Zoidberg]

When you build crap and can't compete

Throw a tantrum and stomp your feet.

If they aren't good enough for our workers

how can we sell them to the other suckers?

So you'll drive what we command

or else we'll ban you from our land!

[cbkaty]

When you build crap and can't compete

Whoa...hoss... I bought a Ford 500 and I love it! No problems....so far (grin) for a year....

[Petronski]

Hitler had a picture of Ford in his office.

[Dr.Zoidberg]

I haven't set foot in a Ford since I sold the Ranger I bought in high school. And I don't intend to take up the habit.

I've been driving a Dodge Dakota these days.

[Petronski]

But the Galaxie 500 of the sixties was great.

[PAR35]

I don't know if I would call it great. It did have plenty of power with the 390 c.i. engine and a 4 barrel carb, but in the end, it was designed to last for about 3 or 4 years. The Mercury model in the mid-late 60s was the Monterrey. (Earlier Monterreys were, I think, a unique design with the slant in power electric window in the back. )